Ron Guth:
During the minting of the New Rochelle Half Dollars, mint employees struck 50 examples using polished planchets and polished dies. According to Walter Breen, these coins received only one blow from the coining press, thus the resultant quality is more akin to a Prooflike coin than a true Proof. NGC has long recognized these special coins as Specimen strikings; PCGS began recognizing them as Specimens in July 2015, at which time at least three coins were crossed over.

Potential buyers should be aware that numerous Prooflike business strikes exist. Certification is a must to help separate the Prooflikes from the Specimens.

According to researcher, Kevin Flynn, the 50 special New Rochelle Half Dollars were "...distributed in dark red boxes with a velvet liner... These had documents specifying which number they were struck. They include[d] a silver medal produced by Tiffany & Company from Lorriland Wise's original reverse." This same reverse was used on 1938 medals produced by the Westchester Coin Club of New York to promote the New Rochelle Half Dollars, but those medals were issued by themselves in smaller, gilt boxes.